During the past month, I scratched two more off my list – “Hellboy, Vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom” and “Hellboy, Vol. 5: Conquer Worm.” Earlier this year, I finished “Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction, “Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil” and “Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others.”
For those of you unfamiliar with the Hellboy character, he’s a comic book superhero with red skin, horns, a tail and an unusual, oversized right hand made of stone. Known as the “World’s Greatest Paranormal Investigator,” he works for the United States Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. He does seem to have a few superpowers. He’s abnormally strong and appears to heal quickly among other things. He was created by writer and artist Mike Mignola, and most of the Hellboy comics have been published by Dark Horse Comics.
“The Right Hand of Doom” was published in April 2000. The book is divided into three parts – The Early Years, The Middle Years and The Right Hand of Doom. The Early Years includes three stories – “Pancakes,” “The Nature of the Beast” and “King Vold.” The Middle Years also includes three stories – “Heads,” “Goodbye, Mister Tod” and “The Varcolac.” The Right Hand of Doom includes two stories. They are “The Right Hand of Doom” and “Box Full of Evil.” Mignola served as writer and artist. Pat Brosseau was letterer, and Dave Stewart was the colorist. Scott Allie served as editor.
“Conquer Worm” was published February 2002 and puts four issues of a limited series between two covers. This book is classic Hellboy. It contains Nazis, the Ragnarok Project, Lobster Johnson, Herman von Klempt and Roger the Homunculus. This story garnered a number of awards, including a 2002 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series. Mignola served as the writer and artist for this work, and Stewart was the colorist.
Of the five collections that I’ve read so far, I’d have to say that “Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others” was probably my favorite. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy all five.
By my count, I’ve got seven more trade paperback collections to read before I can say that I’ve read them all. Here a list of the other titles in order of their release.
- Hellboy, Vol. 6: Strange Places (April 2006)
- Hellboy, Vol. 7: The Troll Witch and Others (November 2007)
- Hellboy, Vol. 8: Darkness Calls (May 2008)
- Hellboy, Vol. 9: The Wild Hunt (March 2010)
- Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others (June 2010)
- Hellboy, Vol. 11: The Bride of Hell and Others (October 2011)
- Hellboy, Vol. 12: The Storm and the Fury (March 2012)
In the end, how many of these trade paperback collections have you had the chance to read? Which did you like or dislike and why? Which is your personal favorite and why? Let us know in the comments section below.
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